I copied this some time ago from somewhere on the 'net. I don't remember where it was from originally but seems apposite to this discussion.
Quote:
You ever wondered why so many car drivers actually hate bikers? It's down to the traditional way we have of dealing with motor-cars, probably originated in the days when cars were fewer and slower. I guess the phrase "arrogant contempt" sums up this approach. I don't know what it did for our reputation, but it sure got the car drivers uptight. I saw it all one night following this loony on a clean Velo while we traversed a large town near Bath ever so fast. He didn't actually cause any accidents in his wake, but it was close. He worked on the principle that the cars can't see you, so getting past before they can move takes a bike across town fast — until your luck runs out, that is.
It also gets a lot more car drivers uptight than it used to. They seem to be meaner these days, too. When I told the Velo kid about it he told me I was as bad. This explained the feeling of mild paranoia I got in the back of the neck at traffic lights, so I started to think about it. After a suitable period had passed I noticed that some people were not as bad at frightening the cars as others, yet they were no slower. A further period passed and it became clear. Instead of being afraid of the cars in the true defensive mode, or making the cars afraid of them, in the offensive mode, they were controlling the cars. It's a question of balance between being unnecessarily dangerous and unnecessarily safe. Subconsciously I had been using this technique myself occasionally.
Consider Car-Borne Man. Moving a bike amongst a group of them is analogous to riding a bicycle through a herd of cows. Cars are large, angular and dangerously heavy in a collision. They tend to move only forwards and backwards, rarely sideways, and they can be stampeded quite easily, In addition, car-borne man is trained to obey (a cow probably enjoys it). So, without arousing his ire, causing damage or obstruction, he can be herded. As you will normally be going in more or less the same direction this herding can be very subtle, and if used in (he true co-operative spirit can even speed the car as well. Most people, let alone car drivers, are willing to have decisions made for them, so a bit of judicious herding will probably make you friends, too — after all it's pretty difficult to manoeuvre a car round town without making a mistake.
There seems to be a very simple technique for this procedure of controlling traffic — hand signals. Everyone uses indicators nowadays ('cept the ones who don't) so most times a car driver sees a biker give a hand signal it's a Fed. When the driver sees this hand signal he knows the bike is going to turn, slow down or make some sort of positive manoeuvre. Thus he knows what is going to happen next. This makes him feel good. In gratitude he makes it easier for the bike to do its thing.
Judgement is naturally required in applying this technique, however, as giving hand signals that are instructions rather than indications carries its own responsibility. It's very tempting to wave some dumbo into action, but if he blows it you're the cause of the resulting accident. Quite often as you arrive at a junction which is a bit jammed, with no one sure where to go, you'll note that they all look towards you as the newest arrival. A clear signal at this point convinces them that you're in charge, and you can usually pass through unhindered; this sometimes gives the cars the idea and they can get going too. People who find themselves stopping and directing the traffic should stop pretending and wear bone white helmets and sunglasses.